Redeye missle gunner stanchion

ABSTRACT

A rotatable gunner&#39;&#39;s support including a pedestal mounted on a ship&#39;&#39;s deck and having an upright bearing from which extends an offset vertical standard. A back rest is connected to the upper end of the standard and is equipped with a safety belt.

United States Patent 1 1 I I 1111 3,720,394

Barrett et a1. l 51March 13, 1973 1 REDEYE MISSLE GUNNER [56] References Cited STANCHION UNITED STATES PATENTS [75] Invemms Frederick Barret Cama'ill"; 2 415 340 2 1947 Ardenne et a1 ..s9/37 PUX Peter 3,124,329 3/1964 Ransom et al. ..248/161 x W. Hrabe, Thousand Oaks, all of 1,331,663 6/1921 Roeder...; ..248/354 P 3,477,673 11/1969 Bereday ..248/41l x [73] Assignee: The United States of America as 3 3/1944 A nn 89/37P X represented by th Secretary f th 2,415,967 2/1947 Pontius .89/41 C Navy 3,512,741 5/1970 Goldstein ..,..248/125 X [22] Filed: May 24, 1971 Primary Examiner-J. Franklin Foss [21] Appl. No.: 146,259 Attorney-Gaywzrd N. Mann, Q. Baxter Warner and Richard S. Sciascia 521 u.s.c1. ..248/125, 89/36 J, 89/41 C,

248/415 ABSTRACT 51 1m.c1.. ..A47g 29 00 A rotatable gunner,s support including a pedestal [58] Field of Search ..89/4l C, 37 P, l R, 36 J, 36 M, 89/36 B; 42/94; 248/125, 411,161,158, 418, 415; 714/.5, 188, .5 A; 43/1; 9/400, 7

mounted on a ships deck and having an upright bearing from which extends an offset vertical standard. A back rest is connected to the upper end of the standard and is equipped with a safety belt.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTFDHAM 3IE173 720 394 SHEET 2 BF 3 REDEYE MISSLE GUNNER STANCI-IION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is concerned with improving the stability of a gunner while firing an antiaircraft missile aboard ship. In particular it relates to a deck mounted pedestal upon which the gunner is strapped for better accuracy when firing a shoulder launched antiaircraft weapon.

2. Description of the Prior Art Heretofore a ring-type stanchion having a pipe supported railing was employed as the means of supporting a gunner on boats using shoulder launched antiaircraft weapons. However, such boats, particularly PT-type boats, occasionally travel at high speed in rough water. These conditions cause the gunner to sway within the railing which is disruptive to missile accuracy and is uncomfortable for the gunner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present concept is directed to a stanchion for a ship s gunner who is equipped to fire shoulder launched weapons while aboard ship. The device comprises a deck mounted base with an upright bearing from which extends an adjustable and ofi'set vertical standard. A backrest is attached to the upper end of the standard and is equipped with a safety belt to prevent swaying motion of the gunner. Thus, a gunner may be strapped to the back rest, yet is free to rotate about the vertical axis of his body butstill supported by the standard. Such an arrangement enhances the gunners stability in rough water and increases the accuracy and tracking capabilities of his weapon.

STATEMENT OF THE OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a rotatable deck mounted stanchion capable of giving the gunner greater stability.

Another object is to provide a stanchion capable of rotating about a line corresponding to the vertical axis of the gunner's body.

STill another object is to provide a rotatable stanchion with accompanying rotation stops to prevent firing into the superstructure of the ship.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention showing a gunner standing on the rotatable base and strapped to the back support.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation partially cut-away showing the central bearing to which the offset standard is attached. FIG. 3 is a side elevation reduced in scale but similar to FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top plan of the invention showing the backstop, upright bearing and rotation stop plates.

FIG. 5 isan enlarged view of the stanchion rotation stop plates as shown in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT of the present invention. The device comprises a circular base 12 which is attached to the ships hull. An upright bearing assembly consisting of a fixed upright shaft 13 and rotatable outer swivel column 14, is mounted in the center of the base 12 by means of a flange 15 attached to shaft 13. An offset hollow vertical standard 16 is attached to swivel column 14. A back rest 18 is connected by rod 44 and pin 46 to the upper end of standard 16 and is equipped with a safety belt 20. A railing 22 is supported by at least three vertical tubes 24 having their lower ends attached at spaced intervals about the periphery of base 12. Thus, a controlled area is provided in which the gunner stands when firing his weapon. The railing may also be used for temporary support of the missile.

Vertical adjustment of standard 16 is provided by shaft 26 which is adapted to slide in and out of the top portion of standard 16. It is to be noted, however, that where shaft 26 is employed the back rest 18 is connected by the rod 44 and pin 46 to the upper end of said shaft 26. By aligning any of the vertically spaced apertures 28 in shaft 26 with a corresponding aperture 30 in the upper end of standard 16 and inserting pin 31, adjustment may be made to compensate for differences in a gunners height.

A rotation stop assembly 32 shown best in FIG. 5 is mounted adjacent bearing 14 on flange l5 and is adapted to prevent the gunner who is strapped to backrest 18 from moving in an uncontrolled manner about his body axis and accidentally firing into the ship superstructure. The stop assembly 32 includes a pair of plates 34 which are connected to flange 15 by bolts 36. A stop flange 38 is provided at one end of each plate 34 and a spring tensioned shock absorber 40 is mounted in each member 38 substantially as shown in the drawing. Thus, the swivel column l4 will rotate until the rib 17 attached to standard 16 contacts the shock absorber 40. The position of plates 34 may be varied by removing bolts 36 and then moving the plates to a suitable position. The bolts 36 are then reinserted in different apertures 42.

Obviously many modifications and variations of th present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

We claim:

l. A gunners stanchion'to provide support while firing a shoulder launched missile aboard ship comprismg:

a deck mounted base;

a bearing centrally positioned on said base for rotation about a vertical axis;

an offset upright standard attached to said bearing, said standard having an aperture in the upper end thereof; i

a shaft adapted to slide into and out of the top of said standard, said shaft having a series of vertically aligned apertures;

a pin positioned in the aperture of said standard and an aligned aperture of said shaft, thus by varying the apertures which may be aligned, adjustment may be made to compensate for the gunners height;

a back rest connected to the upper end of the adjustable shaft by a rod and pin arrangement, thus by adjusting the shaft, the back rest may be moved to a position suitable to the operator and;

a safety belt to support the gunner;

thus a gunner strapped to the back rest is free to rotate about the vertical axis of his body while still supported by the offset vertical standard.

2. A gunners stanchion to provide a support while firing a shoulder launched missile aboard ship comprising:

degree of movement of the vertical standard, said rotation stop assembly comprising:

a pair of plates removably mounted on the base, said plates adapted to have a plurality of mounting positions thereon;

a flange shaped member attached to one end of each plate and;

a spring tensioned shock absorber positioned in each flange shaped member;

thus a gunner strapped to the back rest is free to rotate about the vertical axis of his body while still supported by the offset vertical standard, said rotation stop assembly adapted to limit movement of said standard to prevent a gunner strapped to the back rest from moving his body axis and firing into the ships super-structure.

3. The gunners stanchion as defined in claim 4 wherein at least three vertical tubes are positioned with their lower ends attached at spaced intervals to the periphery of the base, and a railing supported on the upper end of said tubes, thus a controlled area is provided for support of the gunner and his missile. 

1. A gunner''s stanchion to provide support while firing a shoulder launched missile aboard ship comprising: a deck mounted base; a bearing centrally positioned on said base for rotation about a vertical axis; an offset upright standard attached to said bearing, said standard having an aperture in the upper end thereof; a shaft adapted to slide into and out of the top of said standard, said shaft having a series of vertically aligned apertures; a pin positioned in the aperture of said standard and an aligned aperture of said shaft, thus by varying the apertures which may be aligned, adjustment may be made to compensate for the gunner''s height; a back rest connected to the upper end of the adjustable shaft by a rod and pin arrangement, thus by adjusting the shaft, the back rest may be moved to a position suitable to the operator and; a safety belt to support the gunner; thus a gunner strapped to the back rest is free to rotate about the vertical axis of his body while still supported by the offset vertical standard.
 1. A gunner''s stanchion to provide support while firing a shoulder launched missile aboard ship comprising: a deck mounted base; a bearing centrally positioned on said base for rotation about a vertical axis; an offset upright standard attached to said bearing, said standard having an aperture in the upper end thereof; a shaft adapted to slide into and out of the top of said standard, said shaft having a series of vertically aligned apertures; a pin positioned in the aperture of said standard and an aligned aperture of said shaft, thus by varying the apertures which may be aligned, adjustment may be made to compensate for the gunner''s height; a back rest connected to the upper end of the adjustable shaft by a rod and pin arrangement, thus by adjusting the shaft, the back rest may be moved to a position suitable to the operator and; a safety belt to support the gunner; thus a gunner strapped to the back rest is free to rotate about the vertical axis of his body while still supported by the offset vertical standard.
 2. A gunner''s stanchion to provide a support while firing a shoulder launched missile aboard ship comprising: a deck mounted base; a bearing centrally positioned on said base for rotation about a vertical axis; an offset upright standard attached to said bearing; a back rest connected to the upper end of said offset standard; a safety belT to support the gunner; and a rotation stop assembly mounted adjacent the centrally positioned bearing and adapted to limit the degree of movement of the vertical standard, said rotation stop assembly comprising: a pair of plates removably mounted on the base, said plates adapted to have a plurality of mounting positions thereon; a flange shaped member attached to one end of each plate and; a spring tensioned shock absorber positioned in each flange shaped member; thus a gunner strapped to the back rest is free to rotate about the vertical axis of his body while still supported by the offset vertical standard, said rotation stop assembly adapted to limit movement of said standard to prevent a gunner strapped to the back rest from moving his body axis and firing into the ship''s super-structure. 